IP Library Granted Patent US 7,284,749
Granted Patent B2
US 7,284,749 · App. 10/946,910 · Granted Oct 23, 2007

Sheet processing systems and methods

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,284,749
App. No.
10/946,910
Granted
Oct 23, 2007
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for processing sheets, statements, and/or inserts prior to mailing are provided. One sheet processing system includes a receiver adapted to receive first and second sheets to be processed. The first sheet originates from a stack of first sheets or a continuous form sheet, and the second sheet originates from a stack of second sheets or a continuous form sheet. The system includes a first read head adapted to read a first identifier from the first sheet, and a second read head adapted to read a second identifier from the second sheet. A circuit coupled to the first and second read heads is adapted to compare the first and second identifiers to determine whether a match exists. In this manner, the sheet processing system is able to confirm that the first and second sheets are both intended to be sent to the same customer.

Claims (48)

1. A sheet processing system, comprising:

a receiver adapted to receive a first sheet and a second sheet to be processed, wherein at least one of the first and second sheets comprises multiple documents, the first sheet originating from a stack of first sheets and the second sheet originating from a stack of second sheets;

a first read head adapted to read a first identifier from the first sheet;

a second read head adapted to read a second identifier from the second sheet;

a third read head adapted to read a third identifier from the first sheet;

a fourth read head adapted to read a fourth identifier from the second sheet;

a circuit coupled to the first, second, third and fourth read heads, the circuit adapted to compare the first and second identifiers to determine whether a match exists and to compare the third and fourth identifiers to determine whether a match exists.

2. The system as in claim 1 wherein the receiver comprises at least one rotatable pin wheel, the pin wheel having a plurality of pins adapted to be received in a first plurality of holes in the first sheet.

3. The system as in claim 2 wherein the plurality of pins are adapted to be received in a second plurality of holes in the second sheet.

4. The system as in claim 3 wherein the first and second sheets pass together over the pin wheel if the match exists.

5. The system as in claim 1 wherein the multiple documents on the first sheet comprise at least one customer statement and the multiple documents on the second sheet comprise at least one check sheet.

6. The system as in claim 5 wherein the multiple documents on the first sheet comprise first and second customer statements.

7. The system as in claim 6 wherein:

the first read head is adapted to read the first identifier from the first sheet associated with the first customer statement;

the second read head is adapted to read the second identifier from the second sheet associated with first customer checks;

the third read head is adapted to read a third identifier from the first sheet associated with the second customer statement; and

the fourth read head is adapted to read a fourth identifier from the second sheet associated with second customer checks.

8. The system as in claim 6 further comprising a first separator adapted to separate the first and second customer statements from one another.

9. The system as in claim 8 wherein the second sheet comprises first and second customer checks, the separator adapted to separate the first customer checks from the second customer checks.

10. The system as in claim 8 wherein the stack of first sheets is a first continuous form sheet, the system further comprising a second separator adapted to separate a received portion of the first continuous form sheet from a next portion of the continuous form sheet.

11. The system as in claim 10 wherein the first and second continuous form sheets are received by the receiver from two different directions, and are transferred from the receiver to the second separator in a same direction.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the two different directions are generally perpendicular to each other.

13. The system as in claim 1 wherein the first and second identifiers comprise first and second uniform product codes, the first and second identifiers both having a same sequence number when the match exists.

14. The system as in claim 1 further comprising a printer coupled to the first sheet and adapted for printing first and second customer statements thereon.

15. The system as in claim 1 further comprising an edge remover adapted to remove a first sheet edge and a second sheet edge.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first identifier is on a first document of the first sheet, the second identifier is on a first document of the second sheet, the third identifier is on a second document of the first sheet, and the fourth identifier is on a second document of the second sheet.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the first and second documents of the first sheet are customer statements for different customers, and the first and second documents of the second sheet are checks for different customers.

18. A system for processing sheets prior to mailing, comprising:

a host computer having a circuit coupled to a sheet processing unit, the sheet processing unit comprising:

a receiver adapted to receive first and second continuous form sheets;

first, second, third and fourth readers, the first reader adapted to read a first identifier from the first continuous form sheet, the second reader adapted to read a second identifier from the second continuous form sheet, the third reader adapted to read a third identifier from the first continuous form sheet, and a fourth reader adapted to read a fourth identifier from the second continuous form sheet;

a first separator adapted to separate a received portion of the first and second continuous form sheets from a next portion of the first and second continuous form sheets; and

wherein the circuit is adapted to receive input from the first, second, third and fourth readers related to at least a portion of the first, second, third and fourth identifiers, and to compare the received input to determine if the portion of the first and second identifiers match and the portion of the third and fourth identifiers match.

19. The system as in claim 18 wherein the host computer is coupled to an indicator, the indicator adapted to indicate if a mismatch is determined between the portion of the identifiers.

20. A method of processing sheets prior to mailing, the method comprising:

receiving first and second sheets with a receiver, the first sheet originating from a stack of first sheets and the second sheet originating from a stack of second sheets;

reading a first identifier on the first sheet with a first read head;

reading a second identifier on the second sheet with a second read head;

reading a third identifier on the first sheet with a third read head;

reading a fourth identifier on the second sheet with a fourth read head;

comparing the first and second identifiers and the third and fourth identifiers to determine whether a match exists; and

signaling an error if the first and second identifiers or the third and fourth identifiers do not match.

21. The method as in claim 20 wherein the first sheet comprises a first customer account statement having the first identifier, and the second sheet comprises a check associated with the first customer account and having the second identifier.

22. The method as in claim 21 further comprising retrieving at least one insert to match with the first customer statement based at least in part on the first identifier.

23. The method as in claim 21 wherein the first sheet further comprises a second customer account statement having the third identifier, and the second sheet further comprises a check associated with the second customer account and having the fourth identifier.

24. The method as in claim 23 further comprising separating the first customer account statement from the second customer account statement.

25. The method as in claim 24 further comprising separating the check associated with the first customer account from the check associated with the second customer account at a same time as separating the first and second customer account statements.

26. The method as in claim 24 further comprising separating a received portion of the first and second sheets from a next portion of the first and second sheets if a match is determined.

Assignments (8)
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Aug 19, 2019
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: FIRST DATA CORPORATION; DW HOLDINGS, INC.; FIRST DATA RESOURCES, INC. (K/N/A FIRST DATA RESOURCES, LLC); FUNDSXPRESS FINANCIAL NETWORKS, INC.; INTELLIGENT RESULTS, INC. (K/N/A FIRST DATA SOLUTIONS, INC.); LINKPOINT INTERNATIONAL, INC.; MONEY NETWORK FINANCIAL, LLC; SIZE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; TASQ TECHNOLOGY, INC.; TELECHECK INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Reel/Frame 050090/0060 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Aug 19, 2019
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: FIRST DATA CORPORATION; DW HOLDINGS, INC.; FIRST DATA RESOURCES, LLC; FUNDSXPRESS FINANCIAL NETWORK, INC.; FIRST DATA SOLUTIONS, INC.; LINKPOINT INTERNATIONAL, INC.; MONEY NETWORK FINANCIAL, LLC; SIZE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; TASQ TECHNOLOGY, INC.; TELECHECK INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Reel/Frame 050091/0474 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Aug 19, 2019
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: FIRST DATA CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 050094/0455 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 30, 2019
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
To: CARDSERVICE INTERNATIONAL, INC.; DW HOLDINGS INC.; FIRST DATA CORPORATION; FIRST DATA RESOURCES, LLC; FUNDSXPRESS, INC.; INTELLIGENT RESULTS, INC.; LINKPOINT INTERNATIONAL, INC.; SIZE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; TASQ TECHNOLOGY, INC.; TELECHECK INTERNATIONAL, INC.; TELECHECK SERVICES, INC.
Reel/Frame 049902/0919 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 31, 2011
From: DW HOLDINGS, INC.; FIRST DATA RESOURCES, LLC; FUNDSXPRESS FINANCIAL NETWORKS, INC.; FIRST DATA SOLUTIONS, INC.; LINKPOINT INTERNATIONAL, INC.; MONEY NETWORK FINANCIAL, LLC; SIZE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; TASQ TECHNOLOGY, INC.; TELECHECK INTERNATIONAL, INC
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 025719/0590 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 17, 2010
From: DW HOLDINGS, INC.; FIRST DATA RESOURCES, INC. (K/N/A FIRST DATA RESOURCES, LLC); FUNDSXPRESS FINANCIAL NETWORKS, INC.; INTELLIGENT RESULTS, INC. (K/N/A FIRST DATA SOLUTIONS, INC.); LINKPOINT INTERNATIONAL, INC.; MONEY NETWORK FINANCIAL, LLC; SIZE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; TASQ TECHNOLOGY, INC.; TELECHECK INTERNATIONAL, INC.
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 025368/0183 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Oct 31, 2007
From: FIRST DATA CORPORATION; CARDSERVICE INTERNATIONAL, INC.; FUNDSXPRESS, INC.; LINKPOINT INTERNATIONAL, INC.; TASQ TECHNOLOGY, INC.; TELECHECK SERVICES, INC.; DW HOLDINGS, INC.; FIRST DATA RESOURCES, INC.; INTELLIGENT RESULTS, INC.; SIZE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; TELECHECK INTERNATIONAL, INC.
To: CREDIT SUISSE, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 020045/0165 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 15, 2004
From: GREENE, JAY E.; NOWLIN, JEFF G.; CASTO, FRED C.; SMITH, SCOTT J.; WALPUS, TIMOTHY J.; WILSON, MARK J.
To: FIRST DATA CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 015456/0682 →